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Minor League Preview - The Texas League

The Texas League is loaded with talent heading into 2016, headlined by last year's second overall pick and ten Top-100 prospects.

By Domenic Lanza
Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The full season leagues will start play in the 2016 season this week, and with that in mind, the prospect staff here at Fake Teams will be taking a look at some of the relevant information with each league. While we always hope that you'll come to us when you're looking for fantasy writing and analysis to help you in your leagues, we also want to help you get a better understanding of what we're looking at so that you can do some of this analysis should you need it quickly. This time around, I'll be discussing the Texas League.

The Basics

The Texas League can trace its roots back to 1888, and has gone through as many changes as one would expect for a league that has existed in one form or another for nearly 130 years. The term 'Texas leaguer' - otherwise known as a bloop single - can trace its origins to the late nineteenth century, and stems from the first incarnation of this league. In its current incarnation, the Texas League is an 8 team minor league at the Double-A level. Although generally regarded as an offensive haven, the league as a whole has played as fairly neutral these last few years. There are no true extremes at this point, though Arkansas (pitcher-friendly) and Midland (hitter-friendly) come fairly close.

Last year's champion: Midland RockHounds (Oakland A's affiliate).

Teams

Instead of breaking down the rosters, I'll share some prospects that bear keeping an eye on. Any players that appeared on the Fake Teams Top-100 will be notated with their ranking in parentheses.

Arkansas Travelers (LAA) - RHP Victor Alcantara, OF Chad Hinshaw

Corpus Christi Hooks (HOU) - SS Alex Bregman (15), RHP Francis Martes (86), OF Derek Fisher (97), 3B J.D. Davis, RHP Joe Musgrove

Frisco RoughRiders (TEX) - OF Lewis Brinson (28), OF Ryan Cordell, 1B Ronald Guzman

Midland RockHounds (OAK) - SS Franklin Barreto (35), 3B Matt Chapman, RHP Dylan Covey

Northwest Arkansas Naturals (KC) - RHP Kyle Zimmer (59), SS Raul Mondesi (69), RHP Christian Binford, OF Bubba Starling

San Antonio Missions (SDP) - SS Jose Rondon, OF Nick Torres

Springfield Cardinals (STL) - RHP Alex Reyes (21), OF Harrison Bader, 3B Paul DeJong,

Tulsa Drillers (LAD) - RHP Jose De Leon (23), OF Alex Verdugo (83),  RHP Chris Anderson, 1B/OF Cody Bellinger